Louisiana State University’s long-discussed plan for a new, privately managed arena is facing fresh headwinds after documents surfaced showing the project could be bankrolled by public taxes even as its would-be developer, Oak View Group, grapples the fallout that followed a federal bid-rigging case and a leadership shake-up.
A November draft agreement obtained by The Advocate and detailed by LSU’s Reveille calls for redirecting as much as six cents of every sales-tax dollar—two cents from East Baton Rouge Parish and an additional two-to-four cents from state coffers—to OVG through a rebate if the arena moves ahead. LSU officials have not said whether that framework has changed, but any pact would need Metro Council approval before taking effect.
Indictment prompts “due-diligence review”
The funding revelation comes two weeks after the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging OVG co-founder and then-CEO Tim Leiweke with conspiring to rig the bidding for the University of Texas’ Moody Center, opened in 2022. Prosecutors allege Leiweke persuaded a rival developer to withdraw in exchange for future subcontracts, depriving taxpayers of a competitive process.
In a statement to The Reveille, LSU Athletics spokesperson Zach Greenwell said there is “not a finalized agreement in place” with OVG and that “all involved parties are evaluating the implications on the potential arena project … The future status of the project will be informed by a due-diligence review.”
Within hours of the indictment, Leiweke resigned as CEO and moved to vice-chair of OVG’s board; OVG360 president Chris Granger was elevated to chief executive. The company also agreed to pay a $15 million penalty, with Legends also settling with the government.
New Palm Springs contract shows continued deal-making
Despite the legal turmoil, OVG’s venue-services arm has kept winning business. On July 21, the Palm Springs City Council approved a five-year contract—worth up to $3.6 million—to have OVG360 take over operations of the city-owned Palm Springs Convention Center and tourism bureau when the current deal with AEG expires in September 2025. The agreement includes performance bonuses and an immediate capital-improvement commitment, underscoring municipalities’ ongoing appetite for private-sector expertise even amid heightened scrutiny.
Questions of transparency and public value
If LSU adopts the rebate structure, millions in taxpayer dollars would flow to a privately controlled arena that, like UT-Austin’s Moody Center, is expected to host both university athletics and major concerts. Proponents argue the project would modernize LSU’s facilities and stimulate development along Nicholson Drive. Critics counter that shifting tax revenues to a for-profit operator could short-change essential services unless the venue delivers outsized economic returns—an equation made murkier by the unresolved criminal case.
For now, LSU officials insist no contracts have been signed. But with public money on the line and OVG still collecting new business elsewhere, pressure is building for university and local leaders to explain why—in the wake of a bid-rigging indictment—Baton Rouge should still hand the keys, and potentially millions in tax dollars, to the same developer.
